Monday, October 24, 2011

The 'F' Word


The 'F' Word is Frugal.

which is not to say Cheap aka Stingy or Miserly.

I don't go for Cheapness but I am a fan of Frugal.

Alas, I too often suffer the slings and arrows directed at the Frugal Minded. Though I am admittedly only Frugal at times. My personal lifestyle nod to being Frugal means doing stuff like the following, which irks some people no end:

(1) I re-wash and re-use plastic zip top closure food storage bags of all sizes.
I confess to doing so, but only once per potentially reusable bag.
Only those bags that have previously stored non-greasy, dry foodstuffs (slices of bread or raw produce) get re-washed with soapy water, allowed to dry, and then are used once more. After which, they are disposed of. BTW, truly frugal folks and/or rabidly 'green folk' don't use plastic food storage bags at all. I confess to being only Kinda Sorta Frugal.

(2) I sometimes use scissors to cut a superextralarge (dinner sized) paper napkin into two equal sized, slightly smaller napkins for use at meals. This is only done when it's just me and/or The Hubster eating here at home. When guests join us for a meal, each diner gets a WHOLE (party time!!!) napkin or we use cloth napkins (super party time!!!). Hubs doesn't even use a napkin, so when it comes to committing the frugal act of cutting large paper napkins in half, it's really only for my benefit. Half now and the other half at the next meal. Some of those paper napkins are so large/absorbent that to use a whole one for dabbing one's lips or greasy fingers once, maybe twice - during the course of a meal - seems - wasteful. Not so much with half a napkin. If only using a half, I have no problem tossing it afterwards.

(3) When a tube of lipstick gets used down to 'the nub' - that is - lipstick is no longer applicable from the tube alone without scraping one's lips on the Ouch! edges of the applicator)
--- guess what. There's still quite a bit of lipstick left inside that (hidden) last half inch of the tube. There is at least a half teaspoon. Really. Plenty enough to use for another few weeks or more, if dabbed at with a lip brush. As my fave lipstick brand is M-A-C, using a lip brush to get at what remains inside the tube allows for holding off a tad longer before purchasing a brand new M-A-C lipstick at $15-$30 (depending on where it is purchased) a pop. Totally worth the frugality.

To be sure, I LIKE and make use of The F Word.